College Republicans Say They Weren’t Allowed Into Obama’s Speech Because They Were Deemed a Security Threat

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A group of College Republicans at the University of Central Missouri says they weren’t allowed to attend President Barack Obama’s speech on Wednesday because they were deemed a security threat.

President Barack Obama concludes his speech at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo. , Wednesday, July 24, 2013. (AP)

According to the College Fix, the 10 students all had tickets to Obama’s speech, but were turned away at the door by security who said it wasn’t about their politics — it was about the president’s safety.

“It just didn’t make any sense,” Courtney Scott, the group’s state treasurer, told the College Fix. “A lot of us traveled several hours to watch the speech. We were very disappointed not to be able to attend.”

Some members of the group were wearing Tea Party- and Republican-themed clothing and had earlier taken part in protesting Obama outside, but said they only wanted to listen to the speech when they were denied entry, according to the website. They were reportedly told to leave the area and remain several hundred yards from the building.

Scott said they didn’t understand why their group was singled out compared to the other 2,500 audience members.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheBlaze.

UPDATE: The Secret Service said in a statement Friday afternoon that the speech was closed after the event site reached capacity.

“The event at University of Central Missouri was closed to any additional general public due to the event site reaching maximum capacity,” Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said.